SWORDDUELING.COM

These look awesome. They are a bit spendy compared to shinai. I wonder how they feel and how long they last.
Their full armory is amazing. Check it.

http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/jom/9809/verhoeven-9809.htm

The art of producing the famous 16-18th century Damascus steel blades found in many museums was lost long ago. Recently, however, research has established strong evidence supporting the theory that the distinct surface patterns on these blades result from a carbide-banding phenomenon produced by the microsegregation of minor amounts of carbide-forming elements present in the wootz ingots from which the blades were forged. Further, it is likely that wootz Damascus blades with damascene patterns may have been produced only from wootz ingots supplied from those regions of India having appropriate impurity-containing ore deposits.

l

Here is a very good article outlining the evolution of swords as a response to their historical conditions like the rise and fall of plate. There is also an interesting talk of straight vs. curved cavalry swords
http://www.thehaca.com/essays/nobest.htm

Want to see how modern commercial swords hold up under strenuous conditions? This guy has a pile of swords and has put them through their paces. Good place to check out Western sword quality.




Here is something on Japanese swords.

This are totally fake but i sure wish i could buy one.